Press Releases, 5/17/2018 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Minister for Foreign Affairs Soini: Rules-based international system to be defended

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will attend the Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at Elsinore, Denmark, on 17–18 May 2018.

The Council of Europe is the most extensive and oldest intergovernmental organisation, whose main task is to safeguard and develop human rights, pluralistic democracy, and the rule of law. Finland will hold the six-month Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers from November 2018 until May 2019. The next Foreign Ministers' meeting will be organised in Finland in May 2019.

"The protection of human rights and the rule of law safeguards rules-based multilateral cooperation between states. This must be defended. The current situation poses many challenges to the Council of Europe: human rights are increasingly called into question in many countries. In addition, the organisation has had to deal with political and financial problems," Foreign Minister Timo Soini says.

Minister Soini will also speak at the University of Copenhagen. The theme of his speech will be Finland's Arctic Chairmanship.